Music App Developer Smule Raises $12 Million

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Smule, the music app developer behind I am T-Pain and others, has raised another $12 million in funding, according to a recent SEC filing. We’ve confirmed the funding with the company. The round was led by Shasta Ventures and Shasta partner Jason Pressman has joined the Smule board of directors. Granite Ventures and Bessemer Ventures also participated in the round. The company previously raised $13.5 million in funding.

“Based on evidence we are seeing which validates our business model and market opportunity, our management and board concluded we needed to take more aggressive steps to dominate the burgeoning market for mobile social music,” said Jeffrey C. Smith, co-founder and CEO of Smule.

Smule was founded in 2008 by Smith and Dr. Ge Wang. Smith previously co-founded and ran Tumbleweed, an email security software company which he took public on the Nasdaq. Dr. Wang is a Stanford professor at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), the chief architect of the ChucK programming language, the founding director of the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) and the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra (MoPhO). Along with Jeff and Ge, Smule was founded by a group of Stanford and Princeton music PhD’s and developers.

Smule’s products are connected with the company’s Sonic Network technology, a social fabric allowing users to create and experience music together. Smule’s Sonic Network includes over 200 million songs, all created by users of Smule’s products.

Earlier this year, the company said it would double its staff size in 2011.

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Crunchbase

OverviewWe believe that music is much more than just listening—it's about creating, sharing, discovering, participating, and connecting with people. It is the original social network with the power to break down barriers, touch souls and bring people together from all over the world.
In 2008, we set out to create apps that enabled anyone to create, discover, love and enjoy music. Over 125 million people …